Bobsleigh 2018/Men's two

Men's two
General information
Sport	Bobsleigh 2018
Date	18-19 February 2018
Competitors	30 pairs
Venue	Alpensia Sliding Centre
Previous medalists
Gold	Alex Baumann Beat Hefti
Silver	Steven Holcomb Steven Langton
Bronze	Daumants Dreiskens Oskars Melbardis
Conditions
Temperature	Day 1: -3°C / 26.6°F Day 2: 0°C / 32°F
Length	1396 metres
Medalists
	Alexander Kopacz Justin Kripps
	Francesco Friedrich Thorsten Margis
	Oskars Melbardis Janis Strenga

The men's two of Bobsleigh 2018 during the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 18-19 February 2018 in the Alpensia Sliding Centre. With 30 pairs competing, the event was won by Alexander Kopacz and Justin Kripps from Canada and Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis from Germany and Oskars Melbardis and Janis Strenga from Latvia taking bronze.

Format

The competition exists out of four heats spread out over two days, with the 20 teams with the best times after three heats advancing to the final heats. The team with the lowest aggregate time over two days is the winner.

Preview

Thirty pairs qualified for the event, and the competition was wide open, though the six Canadian and German pairs were considered some of the favorites. The teams of Oskars Melbardis/Janis Strenga and Oskars Kibermanis/Matiss Miknis had the fastest sled, while South Koreans had also been the number one in the world recently. The team of Rico Peter and Simon Friedli might be one of the big outsiders, just like Benjamin Maier and Markus Sammer. Oskars Melbardis was the only previous medalist to participate, winning the bronze medal in 2014.

Current Records

Record	Date	Nat.	Name	Time
TR	18 March 2017		Francesco Friedrich	50.24
			Thorsten Margis

Summary

Heat 1

The Brazilian duo of Edson Bindilatti and Edson Ricardo Martins were the first to descend, and they immediately broke the track record. However, the British bob piloted by Brad Hall immediately went another eighth-tenth of a second below that, a time that would not be beat until the leader in the world rankings, Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz taking the lead. Following the Canadians, the second seed were not able to retake their track record, and finished a tenth of a second behind them. The third German team of Nico Walther and Christian Poser came very close to the top time, missing out by two hundredth of a second, but the Latvian defending bronze medalist Oskars Melbardis and Janis Strenga were able to leave the world number one behind them, with the same margin. Out of the ten best teams of the world, only Rico Peter and Simon Friedli disappointed a bit, almost 0.7 seconds behind the leaders Melbardis and Strenga. With the rest of the field not being able to set themselves between the medal candidates, Melbardis/Strenga would go into the second heat with 0.02 seconds to Kripps/Kopacz and 0.04 seconds to Walther/Poser. The other Latvian team followed on a tenth of a second, just like the two other German teams.

Heat 1 Results
Rank	Nat.	Athletes		Time
1		Oskars Melbardis	Janis Strenga	49.08
2		Justin Kripps	Alexander Kopacz	49.10
3		Nico Walther	Christian Poser	49.12
4		Oskars Kibermanis	Matiss Miknis	49.21
5		Francesco Friedrich	Thorsten Margis	49.22
6		Johannes Lochner	Christopher Weber	49.24
7		Brad Hall	Joel Fearon	49.37
8		Christopher Spring	Lascelles Brown	49.38
9		Benjamin Maier	Markus Sammer	49.41
10		Nick Poloniato	Jesse Lumsden	49.48
11		Won Yun-jong	Seo Young-woo	49.50
12		Justin Olsen	Evan Weinstock	49.66
13		Markus Treichl	Kilian Walch	49.67
14		Mihai Cristian Tentea	Nicolae Ciprian Daroczi	49.69
15		Dominik Dvorak	Jakub Nosek	49.70
16		Rico Peter	Simon Friedli	49.72
17		Clemens Bracher	Michael Kuonen	49.73
18		Romain Heinrich	Dorian Hauterville	49.74
19		Alexey Stulnev	Vasiliy Kondratenko	49.77
20		Rudy Rinaldi	Boris Vain	49.85
21		Mateusz Luty	Krzysztof Tylkowski	49.87
22		Lucas Mata	David Mari	49.88
23		Jan Vrba	Jakub Havlin	49.93
24		Nick Cunningham	Hakeem Abdul-Saboor	49.96
25		Codie Bascue	Samuel McGuffie	50.03
26		Li Chunjian	Wang Sidong	50.13
27		Edson Bindilatti	Edson Martins	50.14
28		Maxim Andrianov	Yury Selikhov	50.27
29		Jin Jian	Shi Hao	50.47
30		Drazen Silic	Benedikt Nikpalj	50.76

Heat 2

With the second heat going in reverse time placement for the top 20, followed by the rest of the teams in order of their recorded time in the first heat, the Monegask team of Rudy Rinaldi and Boris Vain went first, setting a time faster than their previous heat. This minor feat was not accomplished by many other teams, though the French team of Romain Heinrich and Dorian Hauterville remained 0.07 seconds in front of the sled from Monaco over two runs. Peter and Friedli were able to recover a bit from their previous descend and climbed three placed in the standings of the first day. However, the home team of Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-woo maybe surprised the most with the third time of the second heat, just behind the German teams Walther/Poser and Lochner/Weber, and level to the world leaders Kripps/Kopacz. After two runs, the lead was held by Walther/Poser, with Kripps/Kopacz following them on a tenth of a second, and Lochner/Weber on another tenth of a second. Melbardis/Strenga, who has the fastest time in the first run, dropped back to fourth, while the fastest starters Friedrich/Margis held the differences small.

Heat 2 Results
Rank	Nat.	Athletes		Time
1		Nico Walther	Christian Poser	49.27
2		Johannes Lochner	Christopher Weber	49.34
3		Justin Kripps	Alexander Kopacz	49.39
3		Won Yun-jong	Seo Young-woo	49.39
5		Francesco Friedrich	Thorsten Margis	49.46
6		Benjamin Maier	Markus Sammer	49.47
7		Nick Poloniato	Jesse Lumsden	49.48
8		Brad Hall	Joel Fearon	49.50
9		Rico Peter	Simon Friedli	49.53
10		Oskars Melbardis	Janis Strenga	49.54
11		Justin Olsen	Evan Weinstock	49.55
12		Oskars Kibermanis	Matiss Miknis	49.57
13		Christopher Spring	Lascelles Brown	49.58
14		Dominik Dvorak	Jakub Nosek	49.63
15		Markus Treichl	Kilian Walch	49.67
16		Rudy Rinaldi	Boris Vain	49.69
17		Mihai Cristian Tentea	Nicolae Ciprian Daroczi	49.72
18		Romain Heinrich	Dorian Hauterville	49.73
19		Clemens Bracher	Michael Kuonen	49.90
20		Alexey Stulnev	Vasiliy Kondratenko	49.99
21		Lucas Mata	David Mari	50.04
22		Jan Vrba	Jakub Havlin	50.07
23		Mateusz Luty	Krzysztof Tylkowski	50.10
24		Nick Cunningham	Hakeem Abdul-Saboor	50.11
25		Codie Bascue	Samuel McGuffie	50.16
26		Jin Jian	Shi Hao	50.17
27		Li Chunjian	Wang Sidong	50.21
28		Edson Bindilatti	Edson Martins	50.22
29		Maxim Andrianov	Yury Selikhov	50.58
30		Drazen Silic	Benedikt Nikpalj	50.91

Heat 3

Day two started with the third heat of the competition, with the order decided by the results of the first day. This meant that the German teams were able to put a lot of pressure on the other teams going into the last heat. However, the team of Walther and Poser recorded their slowest time yet, and they were immediately followed by Kripps and Kopacz, who were over 0.2 seconds faster and took the lead over three runs. The next team of Lochner and Weber recorded the exact same time in the third run, keeping their deficit to the Canadians intact, while the first Latvian team was only able to come back with 0.01 seconds, equalling the track record set in the first run. The third German team, Friedrich and Margis then regained their track record by being the first team going below the 49 seconds, with most of the rest of the field not being able to catch up on the five teams. The Korean team Won/Seo continued their push of the second run, settling on a provisional sixth place, within half a second from the leaders.

Heat 3 Results
Rank	Nat.	Athletes		Time
1		Francesco Friedrich	Thorsten Margis	48.96
2		Oskars Melbardis	Janis Strenga	49.08
3		Justin Kripps	Alexander Kopacz	49.09
3		Johannes Lochner	Christopher Weber	49.09
5		Won Yun-jong	Seo Young-woo	49.15
6		Benjamin Maier	Markus Sammer	49.32
6		Nico Walther	Christian Poser	49.32
6		Oskars Kibermanis	Matiss Miknis	49.32
9		Nick Poloniato	Jesse Lumsden	49.33
10		Rico Peter	Simon Friedli	49.52
11		Justin Olsen	Evan Weinstock	49.53
12		Romain Heinrich	Dorian Hauterville	49.55
13		Markus Treichl	Kilian Walch	49.56
13		Christopher Spring	Lascelles Brown	49.56
15		Nick Cunningham	Hakeem Abdul-Saboor	49.62
16		Clemens Bracher	Michael Kuonen	49.64
17		Dominik Dvorak	Jakub Nosek	49.67
17		Brad Hall	Joel Fearon	49.67
19		Rudy Rinaldi	Boris Vain	49.68
20		Alexey Stulnev	Vasiliy Kondratenko	49.74
21		Jan Vrba	Jakub Havlin	49.86
22		Lucas Mata	David Mari	49.87
23		Codie Bascue	Samuel McGuffie	49.90
24		Mateusz Luty	Krzysztof Tylkowski	49.92
25		Mihai Cristian Tentea	Nicolae Ciprian Daroczi	49.93
26		Maxim Andrianov	Ruslan Samitov	49.98
27		Li Chunjian	Wang Sidong	50.15
28		Jin Jian	Shi Hao	50.33
29		Edson Bindilatti	Edson Martins	50.35
30		Drazen Silic	Benedikt Nikpalj	50.99

Heat 4

Only the twenty fastest teams of the first three runs were allowed to compete in the fourth run, which was in reverse order of the aggregate times so far. Many of the first few teams, including Alexey Stulnev and Vasiliy Kondratenko of the Olympic Athletes from Russia and Mihai Cristian Tentea and Nicolae Ciprian Daroczi from Romania could not make a big difference, with Heinrich/Hauterville being able to climb from 18th place to 13th place on the second day. However, the excitement was mainly in the last five sleds, with the gap to sixth-placed Won/Seo already being 0.3 seconds, proving too much to close in a single run. With the top 5 being within 0.15 seconds from each other, any mistake could be costly for a medal, with Walther/Poser going first. The Germans set the fastest time in the last run so far, 0.01 seconds faster than the Koreans, but the Latvians Melbardis/Strenga extended their lead with an even faster time. They certainly put the pressure on third-placed Lochner/Weber, who were only able to record the sixth time of the last run, losing over a quarter of a second, and their third place, to the Latvians, who were now secured of a medal. Track record holders Friedrich/Margis had only 0.06 seconds leeway to bronze, but only lost 0.01 seconds of that at the finish line. In turn, Kripps/Kovacs were another 0.06 seconds in front, and in a nailbiting finish, they finished in the exact same total time as the Germans, with both sharing the gold medal. Melbardis/Strenga won the bronze medal, in front of the German teams Walther/Poser and Lochner/Weber within a quarter of a second. The Koreans Won/Seo finished sixth, at a safe distance followed by Nick Poloniato and Jesse Lumsden.

Heat 4 Results
Rank	Nat.	Athletes		Time
1		Oskars Melbardis	Janis Strenga	49.21
2		Francesco Friedrich	Thorsten Margis	49.22
3		Justin Kripps	Alexander Kopacz	49.28
4		Nico Walther	Christian Poser	49.35
5		Won Yun-jong	Seo Young-woo	49.36
6		Nick Poloniato	Jesse Lumsden	49.45
7		Romain Heinrich	Dorian Hauterville	49.46
8		Johannes Lochner	Christopher Weber	49.47
9		Rico Peter	Simon Friedli	49.49
10		Benjamin Maier	Markus Sammer	49.56
10		Clemens Bracher	Michael Kuonen	49.56
12		Mihai Cristian Tentea	Nicolae Ciprian Daroczi	49.64
13		Markus Treichl	Kilian Walch	49.66
14		Oskars Kibermanis	Matiss Miknis	49.70
15		Christopher Spring	Lascelles Brown	49.72
16		Brad Hall	Joel Fearon	49.80
16		Rudy Rinaldi	Boris Vain	49.80
16		Justin Olsen	Evan Weinstock	49.80
19		Dominik Dvorak	Jakub Nosek	49.86
20		Alexey Stulnev	Vasiliy Kondratenko	49.87

Results

The four gold medalists Alexander Kopacz, Justin Kripps, Francesco Friedrich, and Thorsten Margis won their first Olympic medals, with the first Canadian medal in the event since Torino 2006, while Germany won their fourth gold medal in the last five editions of the event. Canada won their first gold medal in the event since Nagano 1998, which was also the last time that the gold medal had to be shared by two teams. Oskars Melbardis won his third Olympic medal, after winning bronze at the same event four years prior and gold at the four-men event in Sochi, where Janis Strenga won his first medal. The athletes who finished just behind the podium Nico Walther, Christian Poser, Johannes Lochner, and Christopher Weber would have won their first Olympic medals, after Germany failed to win any medals in bobsleigh in 2014.

Result	Athletes		Nationality	Time
	Justin Kripps	Alexander Kopacz	Canada	3:16.86
	Francesco Friedrich	Thorsten Margis	Germany	3:16.86
	Oskars Melbardis	Janis Strenga	Latvia	3:16.91
4	Nico Walther	Christian Poser	Gremany	3:17.06
5	Johannes Lochner	Christopher Weber	Germany	3:17.14
6	Won Yun-jong	Seo Young-woo	South Korea	3:17.40
7	Nick Poloniato	Jesse Lumsden	Canada	3:17.74
8	Benjamin Maier	Markus Sammer	Austria	3:17.76
9	Oskars Kibermanis	Matiss Miknis	Latvia	3:17.80
10	Christopher Spring	Lascelles Brown	Canada	3:18.24
11	Rico Peter	Simon Friedli	Switzerland	3:18.26
12	Brad Hall	Joel Fearon	Great Britain	3:18.34
13	Romain Heinrich	Dorian Hauterville	France	3:18.48
14	Justin Olsen	Evan Weinstock	United States	3:18.54
15	Markus Treichl	Kilian Walch	Austria	3:18.56
16	Clemens Bracher	Michael Kuonen	Switzerland	3:18.83
17	Dominik Dvorak	Jakub Nosek	Czech Republic	3:18.86
18	Mihai Cristian Tentea	Nicolae Ciprian Daroczi	Romania	3:18.98
19	Rudy Rinaldi	Boris Vain	Monaco	3:19.02
20	Alexey Stulnev	Vasiliy Kondratenko	Olympic Athletes from Russia	3:19.37
21	Nick Cunningham	Hakeem Abdul-Saboor	United States	2:29.69
22	Lucas Mata	David Mari	Australia	2:29.79
23	Jan Vrba	Jakub Havlin	Czech Republic	2:29.86
24	Mateusz Luty	Krzysztof Tylkowski	Poland	2:29.89
25	Codie Bascue	Samuel McGuffie	United States	2:30.09
26	Li Chunjian	Wang Sidong	China	2:30.49
27	Edson Bindilatti	Edson Martins	Brazil	2:30.71
28	Maxim Andrianov	Yury Selikhov	Olympic Athletes from Russia	2:30.83
29	Jin Jian	Shi Hao	China	2:30.97
30	Drazen Silic	Benedikt Nikpalj	Croatia	2:32.66